


to win (your heart)

by indigo night (laehys)



Series: the sweetest thing [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Carnival, Huang Ren Jun & Lee Donghyuck | Haechan Are Best Friends, M/M, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25699321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laehys/pseuds/indigo%20night
Summary: “You owe me so much for this,” Renjun said, resting his hand on the side of Donghyuck’s neck, trying to hold him in place. “Stop moving. I’m trying to apply this, or you’ll burn and then complain about it later.”“You owe me so much for this,” Donghyuck mimicked him, making his tone higher, but he stopped moving for two full seconds before batting Renjun’s hands away from his face. “You’re just saying this because you’re here with me and not making out with your boyfriends right now."
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Series: the sweetest thing [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880944
Comments: 13
Kudos: 159





	to win (your heart)

**Author's Note:**

> part 2!!  
> idk how well this works as a stand alone, so i'd advise u to read [your heart will melt (like ice cream)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24006412) before :)
> 
> sorry about all the spam on the tag but im just posting everything that was sitting here for months lmao  
> 

Under the scorching sun, Renjun stared hard at Donghyuck who just wouldn’t _stay quiet_ as he tried to rub some of the sunscreen that was all over his forehead.

“You owe me so much for this,” Renjun said, resting his hand on the side of Donghyuck’s neck, trying to hold him in place. “Stop moving. I’m trying to apply this, or you’ll burn and then complain about it later.”

“ _You owe me so much for this,_ ” Donghyuck mimicked him, making his tone higher, but he stopped moving for two full seconds before batting Renjun’s hands away from his face. “You’re just saying this because you’re here with me and not making out with your boyfriends right now… And I don’t own you anything--you’re owning _me_ big time, by the way.”

It wasn’t… exactly wrong -- he was a little sulky because he wasn’t with Jeno and Jaemin when they could be together right now, instead of sitting on a bench with Donghyuck just people watching and trying to catch a glimpse of their marks, but the part of them being _boyfriends…_ that was something still in progress.

“You’re my friend,” Renjun said, still trying to rub the sunscreen and totally giving up when Donghyuck stepped away, sporting a white unblended stripe right above his eyebrow. “Of course I don’t mind spending time with you.”

Donghyuck frowned a little, jolting down his bottom lip. “That’s not what happened last week.”

Donghyuck’s nose was still a little red from having spent too much time under the sun with nothing to protect him from the sun’s rays. Usually, Renjun would have drilled the usual words into his head as they applied sunscreen and made sure that they had enough water and hats to survive the entire time, but _that_ day he really had just left Donghyuck all by himself as soon as they got there and he caught a glimpse of Jeno.

It wasn’t all their fault, though. Jeno had invited Donghyuck to come along with them, but when Donghyuck wanted to be stubborn, there was nothing in the world that could change his mind. So he refused to go with them, standing in front of the big ride, arms crossed against his chest, as he tried to read people’s marks as they walked by in front of him.

And that was the reason why Renjun was still there with him even though he was bored _as fuck_. Maybe he _did_ feel a little bad after seeing his friend getting sunburnt and still without finding his soulmate after another long day.

So, this time, he made sure to go for a quick walk with Jeno and Jaemin before joining Donghyuck again, denying Jeno’s invitation at trying to win something in the shooting booth or join Jaemin’s ice cream escapade.

“Do you want some cotton candy?” Renjun asked after a while. There was only so much you could do there, with nothing else to distract you. “There’s no line so we can come back quickly.”

“I’m not moving,” Donghyuck answered. “You know that.”

Renjun sighed, resting his hand upon his friend’s shoulder. “Relax, dude. It’s going to happen when it’s your time.”

That obviously wasn’t the right thing to say. Donghyuck huffed loudly, shaking his head. “It’s easy for you to say that when you already found your soulmate… and _both_ of them.”

There had been some tension brimming together inside Donghyuck with every passing weekend that ended in disaster, with no changes, and Renjun was very well aware that his friend had been snapping a lot more since the day he’d brought over his two soulmates instead of ice cream. Donghyuck had been the one actively searching for his soulmate while Renjun just… kind of stumbled into them.

But really--what could Renjun say when that was the truth?

They had spent so _much time_ on that carnival, sometimes riding the attractions, wasting hours on lines, complaining about the heat, and, yet, he was the one who had won while Donghyuck would spend his time in front of the ride, waiting for someone he wasn’t certain that would ever appear, trying his best and having no results every time.

But Donghyuck was firm on his idea of waiting and they continued sitting on the bench next to the ride, Renjun watching as his friend glared at the empty space in front of him almost as if he could force someone to appear out of thin air just with his mind.

After a while, Jaemin appeared from the crowd, sweat dripping down his neck while he struggled to hold three melting ice cream cones and not trip over the running children.

“This one is for you, Hyuck!” he said, giving the melting cold treat to Donghyuck who barely grumbled a “ _Thanks”_ before he was already all over it. “And this one is for you, babe,” Jaemin said, giving Renjun the most intact one. Just a little bit melted.

“Thanks, Jaem.”

“Anything for you,” Jaemin replied, winking at him.

“ _God,_ ” Donghyuck muttered, grimacing slightly. Renjun stuck out his tongue in his direction before licking his ice cream, feeling Jaemin drop a kiss on the top of his head before he took a seat next to him, all the while smiling wide.

Donghyuck was the first to finish, using the end of his shirt to clean his sticky hands.

“Where is the other half of you both?”

Renjun shrugged, too busy trying to let his ice cream drip only onto the ground and not on his clothes.

“Still on the shooting booth,” Jaemin replied, finishing his ice cream. “I went to see if he wanted to eat anything, but he was too busy to even answer me,” he said, almost whining out.

And that made Renjun stop, feeling the cold sensation of ice cream falling onto his hand and run over his skin.

“Wait. He’s _still_ there?” He asked, rummaging through his pockets. “Dear god, Jeno is going to spend all his money at this rate--it’s fucking impossible to win that thing. God. We need to go save him. And his wallet.”

Renjun was already getting up, cleaning his hand with a lost piece of tissue he found deep in his pocket, when Jaemin curled his hand around Renjun’s wrist, stopping him in place.

“But… But Jen wanted to win that cute stuffed toy you pointed at before…”

Jaemin looked at him with his eyebrows downwards and his bottom lip jolted out. It… was too cute for Renjun’s heart to handle, so he turned his face to the side and took a deep breath, hoping his face wasn’t as warm as he felt like it was.

“He didn’t need to…” he started to say but stopped at the idea of Jeno trying so hard at something just to impress him. It made him feel all tingly.

“I told him that, but you know how he gets sometimes...” Jaemin released his grip around his wrist and Donghyuck cleared his throat from the side. Renjun looked at his best friend with his best pair of big, sparkly eyes.

“Hyuckie…”

Donghyuck only rolled his eyes, huffing dramatically and waving his hand away as if he didn’t care about it. “Go,” he said, as unemotional as one could possibly be. “Go and live your big and intense romantic adventure while I’m stuck here, alone, with no friend by my side while I wait for someone who might never come.”

If someone else heard that, they might think that some argument could probably start, but Renjun knew Donghyuck too well to be able to discern the small smile that his friend tried to fight against.

“I own you one, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck only waved his hand again, resting his chin on the palm of his hand and sighing as he looked to the side, exactly like a character in a coming of age movie would do. Jaemin waved him goodbye before pulling Renjun to the booth’s direction, their fingers intertwining before Renjun could even think about doing it. Renjun was just glad his hand wasn’t sticky with the ice cream.

And it was exactly like Jaemin had said -- Jeno was still there, still trying to knock off enough metal cans while the counter was drowning with little stuffed toys, some even resting on the ground by his feet.

Renjun sighed fondly and almost giggled at the absurd of the scene, but then he gasped out loud when he saw Jeno giving the man inside the booth (who looked like the happiest man alive) another crumpled note.

“Jeno, _no_!”

Jeno startled with the scream, moving his hands around, and making some of the toys fall to the floor. An orange rabbit and a turtle with wings were knocked down and landed over a blue butterfly.

When Jeno turned around, Jaemin was already all over in his space, hugging him tight and holding his arms by the side before Jeno could do anything. Renjun made sure to pocket the crumpled note away.

“Don’t spend any more money. _Please._ ”

“But Renjunnie…” Jeno tried to say, but stopped at the look on Renjun’s face. “Just one more time, I swear…”

“Jeno, _please_ , look at this--” he pointed at around them and all the stuffed toys. “There are too many of them. No more.”

Jeno didn’t seem very sold on the idea of giving up -- nor did the man inside the booth who was glaring at Renjun --, but Jaemin wouldn’t let him go away from the hug and Renjun refused to budge and change his mind.

With a defeated sigh, Jeno nodded his head. He received a wet, loud kiss on his cheek by Jaemin who finally let go of him. Renjun just leaned down to start gathering the stuffed toys, putting them up on the counter.

“Uhh…” Jeno started to speak, looking from the man inside the booth (who had lost all his previous joy) to the pile of the stuffed toys that kept growing as Jaemin helped Renjun gather them all. “Do you have something I can put them all in?” And then he turned to Renjun, fixing him a look. “I hope you have enough room in your bedroom for all of this, Renjunnie.”

Renjun only sighed.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [twt](https://twitter.com/pinkhrj) | [ccat](https://curiouscat.me/rensungie) <3


End file.
